Do It Yourself Butterflys

in the "nothing new under the sun" category" here are the instructions from a 1938 camping guide for making butterflys.
i would assume you could twist just about any tape handy and make these for closing up large cuts.

Nice tip thanks for the info.

Lee

Thanks for posting. Might come in handy some day.

Thanks, never thought of that!

I wonder if I can do that with gorilla tape...? Time for some testing, i think...

Thanks CD. Thats another good tip to store away for future reference.

Good Tip CANOEDOGS, I like reading old outdoor books for the terrific practical information.

I have some current first-hand experience in pulling tape off a wound.

Twelve days ago I had arthroscopic knee surgery which involved 3 small incisions around the top of my right knee. These cuts were each closed with 3 short pieces of strong Steri-Strip Tape (1/2" wide by 2" long) put on full size. The first Steri-Strip was just stuck over the cut and then 2 more pieces overlapped it, making a star shape. Four days after the surgery I took the Steri-Strips off as instructed, it was quite painful as the strips were stuck to the wound and clotted blood, there was no new bleeding but in previous surgeries there has been (this is my 4th knee operation).

I guess the tape replaces the use of stitches and I suspect an adhesive bandage with a non-stick pad would not pull the incision closed enough.

The surgeon is an avid outdoorsman and a good guy to talk to, I see him for a follow-up visit tomorrow. I am going to printout your "Twisted Tape" post to show him, perhaps in the future he will consider narrowing the portion of the Seri-Strip that goes over the incision.

Thanks, Mike

Hey CANOEDOGS, I showed your 1938 Camping Book Butterfly Sutures to my knee surgeon today and being an outdoorsman he found it very interesting. On my knee incisions it turns out that the Steri-Strips are to stay on for 10 days and be loosened with warm water to remove. I showed him the reference in the Post-ops instructions to remove the bandages much earlier and he is going to add a new section concerning proper Steri-Strip removal.

Good Doctor, very relaxed and easy to talk outdoors adventures with. Mike

my Doc at the Vets Hospital tells me he enjoys my visits as i bring in canoeing maps,Primus stoves,photos,part of my ditch kit and my first aid kit among other things.i'm in good shape and outside of refilling the pain meds for my bum knee he says that he is not doing anything for me.a lot of the other guys can be in tough shape so i guess i'm a easy visit for him.i also got good feed back on the first aid kit.the PA who gives me the shots in the leg get too hear my canoe storys as it takes my mind off that big needle he's sticking way into my knee joint!

Hey CANOEDOGS, I also get the BIG needles in the knees about twice a year, that hurts without freezing. If it is not to personal a question, what drug is being injected in your knee and do you find that it helps? Thanks, Mike

Mike..it's called hyaluronan,it's made from chicken combs.i call it getting "chicken bits" in the knee when friends ask. every four months i get a run of three a week apart.my Dr tells me it not only fills the cells in the joint space that are "drying" out but it helps your body make more of it's own.the results have been very-very good.i went from walking with a heavy limp to walking without noticing any pain,going down steps holding the rail at one step at a time to just walking down.my mood is much better,hurting all the time was making me grouchy and i would really not feel like doing much.now i'm back at my hobbys.i thought i would have to cut way back on the canoe trips but with all the work my leg is getting with snowshoeing and X country skiing i can see that i have many years left to do that.i had a long visit with the ortho Dr about knee arthroscopy only to find out that the Vets Hospital does not do them anymore because the guys are back six months later with more pain,a new knee was all they would offer.so anyway i'll stick with the chicken bits-i did try a steroid shot some years ago with no results and when i told my Dr that he was not surprised that it did not help.i would ask your Dr about hyaluronan and expect several runs of the injections before you get good results.

CD, thanks for an nformative post. My right knee is beginning to show its age; guess I will be asking about "chicken bits"...These are not the ones available at McDonalds, right?

Thanks for the great info CANOEDOGS, I will discuss with my doctor at the end of January. Mike